bradjock

Nice! And the dude looks ripped! (Not Fallon . . . Izzy)

While neither Steltz or McCray are very good, they are legit NFL players. There were games last year that we started defensive linemen who had no business in the NFL and linebackers who didn't know what the hell they were doing.

But he loves the double TE set. Unfortunately he used an offensive lineman as a TE. I keep hearing speculation on the SCORE the Bears want to add a playmaking TE to go with or behind the Black Unicorn.

I agree. I just hope we don't ignore our return game. We benefited from an excellent defense for so long. Then it just went to crap instantly. I'm thinking we want Weems back for return reasons. If Hester is only being offered the minimum, Weems is fortunate to be offered anything at all.

Not this year it won't happen. Last year we started the season with Peppers, Shea, and Wootton at DE. Those 3 were solid locks to make the team and contribute. Then we had other guys like Cheta who were competing for the #4 spot. Peppers is gone, Wootton is likely gone, and Shea is a linebacker. We've replaced them with Houston, Young, and Izzy. That's a down-grade. We might want Izzy as more of a special teams player. Does Trevor Scott make the team? Does Lane Austin? David Bass, Cornelius Washington . . . I know there are five guys with potential but at this stage in the game, we should be hearing about the 1 or 2 DE's we really like. IMO, our #1 defensive priority was making sure the run defense was not a freaking joke. We need Houston to play defensive end and we need him for run defense.

I'd love to see that. Our defense is lacking an impact player. We signed a bunch of good quality guys who overall are just "meh" compared to other defenses. On opening day last year you had to at least think about double teaming Julius Peppers and also Henry Melton. Willie Young and Lamarr Houston won't draw that kind of attention. Phil Emery talked about wanting to put more pressure on the QB. Heck, I actually liked Shea strictly as a speed rusher off the edge. The problem is, when he was successful at that there was no other pressure. Right now the face of our defense is Lance Briggs. The last time he was on the field he looked old and fat. That being said, there's no indication we are going to make a run at Jared Allen. I'm guessing he will cost 2 years, 20 million with 10 guaranteed. That's slightly more than Peppers received which sounds about right.

He might be 275 now, but if we asked him to add 20 pounds to play DT, it wouldn't take that much. A bunch of guys dropped weight back when Lovie was first hired. Izzy added 20 lbs one off-season to switch to defensive tackle. Then dropped it the next. I'll bet Shea's shedding weight right now. As for web sites changing weights, I don't think they do. I don't think the team sites even change them. I can't remember anything worth mentioning, but there was a few times when I'd see a guy and I knew there was no way in hell they had his accurate weight listed. It really doesn't benefit a team to put that information out there.

Why is he now a DT? He played there some with the Bears out of necessity. I don't know if that was ever his best position. I guess I'm thinking about something Steve Rosenbloom wrote about in the Trib in how we play guys out of position. We draft Shea who is a linebacker and we play him at DE. Houston is build like a tackle and we have no choice to play him at end.

Who is our return man? While Hixon can be a returner, he hasn't done it regularly since 2009. At 6'2", I figure we view Hixon as a big WR to back-up BM and AJ. We have to be thinking about Weems as our return man and Bennett & Marquis Wilson as the #3 WR. As for DT, I think we'll sign a guy, but he will be more in the range of Izzy. A guy who's not awful, has been in the league, and will be cheap. Not a guy like Henry Melton.

Yep. I just posted where Adam Hoge thought it was $5.056. We gave Cutler huge money and there aren't many free agents available. I'm ok with us not gambling on the present so we can continue to be major players in free agency next year. If there was a guy we think would get us offer the top (Jared Allen) it would be great. But right now we are talking about the difference between Izzy & Corey Wootton. Not a game changing move. Not news, but I'd be shocked if our first four picks aren't DT, DE, CB, Safety. You can mix the order.

Peanut was visiting different teams. I had the impression he was getting similar offers from everyone. He decided to settle with the Bears. One scenario: The Bears had the highest offer and Melton was using that offer to drive his price up. Then the Bears signed Peanut. Because of their limited cap, after they signed Peanut they yanked their offer from Melton. Now Melton is dragging his feat hoping to get as much as the Bears originally offered him. That's speculation, but with Tillman signing for 3.5 million, it's certainly a possibility the Bears yanked their offer.

Yeah. Adam Hoge via 670thescore.com reported by his figures, the Bears have $5.056 million in cap space and they need to allocate 5 million for the draft. In other words, pending cutting a guy or restructuring (which we could easily do) the Bears are currently capped out. He's thinking that this means no Wootton, no Melton, and no Jared Allen. He figures we will look at veteran minimum guys. Like Izzy. As our defense collapsed last season, I kept thinking what a bad mistake it was not to have Izzy. Guy never gets hurt and he's not terrible. That's two things we needed from d-linemen last year.

Why would Melton want to sign a long term deal? His market is fairly low right now. With the bad knee and the arrest, that's not going to improve any time soon. I'm guessing he's being offered in the 3-4 million range. Whatever the figure is, it's not going to increase. If he can bounce back and have a pro-bowl year, next off-season he will strike it rich. On a side note, if we ever wanted to move him, Lamarr Houston could be one helluva a 3 technique. That's not going to happen anytime soon as he's by far our best DE.

Jernigan is a 4-3 NT, not a 3T. He might have the ability to play there but dude is more of a run stuffer. I'd say the same for Ratliff, he's capable of playing the 3, but I'd rather see him at NT. So they can play either. That's good to know. I don't expect us to grab Donald and Melton. I'm hoping it's either or. And by hoping I mean I hope if they can't sign Melton that Donald will be there in the draft. Even if we sign Melton, I still say there is a good chance we draft Donald. There's no defensive tackle we have now that you feel really good about. Nate Collins is just an ok player . . . when he's healthy. Paea went games at a time without having an impact. Ratliff is old and who knows if he can play an entire season. Not to mention the question marks about Melton. Young is a starting caliber player, I promise you that. I hope your right. But he came relatively cheap and he won't have the benefit of playing next to really good d-lineman who draw double teams. Also FWIW, PFF has hated Wootton as a DE the last 2 years. How did they like him as a DT? PFT has Wootton ranked as the 4th best free agent still available. (Melton is 3rd). The Bears raved about his work ethic and leadership. Although, they said similar things about Idonije last year and made no real effort to bring him back (which they ultimately regretted).

Good analysis and I agree with most of what you have said. Just a few things I'm not sure about: 1. Jared Allen is rumored to want 12 million per year. No way he's getting anything close to that from the Bears. Seeing what Peppers signed for, I think he's out of our price range. 2. I particularly like the idea of adding a 2nd TE and those are some pretty good names you've mentioned. How damn good would we be with a two TE set and both are legitimate receiving threats? 3. Disagree with kicking the tires on a big name veteran back-up QB. Last year we shied away from getting a big name back-up QB. I don't think we will want another situation where the back-up QB outplays the starter and all the news is "Josh McCown shold be starting!" Fits, Kolb, and Weeden are likely still looking for a chance to start somewhere. Although, I wonder if we would have interest in Jason Campbell.

Where did you hear that the Bears were offering him multiple years? Doesn't Dallas have $$$ since they cut Demarcus Ware? They have don't much. Melton is rumored to be very close to signing with Seattle today. I think I saw that on PFT.

They could that but I'd be shocked if Melton gets more than a one year deal. He likely wants a one year deal since no team is going to pay him as an elite DT when he is coming off a bad knee injury and an arrest. There are other guys we could extend or restructure into future years. Off the top of my head, I'm thinking of restructuring Bushrod or extending BM.

Emery is doing exactly what I thought he'd be doing. Staying away from the sexy names, and let's be clear even Michael Bennett doesn't fall into that category and signing good players. We have not broken the bank on anyone. That doesn't mean these guys are guaranteed to play up to their new contracts but I think they will. What he is doing is building a solid base, one from which he can add the speed element and better talent via the draft. Agreed. He's really accomplished a lot in the first 5 days of free agency and he's putting us in a good spot for the future. You don't want to be like the Coboys, Redskins, and Raiders: teams that have a ton of dead money from bad deals. We've plugged so holes and I look for us to cointinue adding depth. With these type of players mix in a guy like Donald (I'd take him even if we sign Melton) and we're in good shape. Donald & Jerrigan are speculated to be our top targets in the draft. What I don't get about this is that they both play the 3 technique. Nate Collins plays the 3 technique, Jay Ratliff plays the 3, and Henry Melton plays the 3. Next to that postition, we have Steven Paea and that's about it. Find a surprise gem to speed rush from the outside (say a guy like Washington develops) and we're in great shape. One thing is sure, we are throwing a lot of darts at the DE position: Willie Young, Houston, Trevor Scott, and Austin Lane. Toss in our returning guys like Washington, Bass, and Cheta Ozougwu (had to look up the spelling) and you have one heckuva competition heading into training camp. We know Young and Houston were signed to be starters but behind them it is wide open and we could add a draft pick to the mix. I'm not NEARLY as optimistic about the DE position as you. Houston is a good solid starter but he's not a game-charger. Young seems to be best suited as a rotational player, not a starter. As for the good competiton, what that means is that we don't have anybody good enough to solidify the posiiton. In previous years, we would have annual competitions for o-line spots and WR spots. Inevitably, the guys competing were fringe NFL players. Aside from Young Houston, none of the other DE's are even locks to be on an NFL team next year. I'm hoping we at least resign Wooton and keep him exclusively as a DE. I haven't heard any rumors about Wooton.

I'm thrilled he's back and I hope he retires as a Bear. More interesting, the Bears have their starting corners in place. TJ, Peanut, and Hayden. Granted we need depth and youth, but immediately, this is not a priority in the draft.

That's because Washington played in one game last year and recorded one tackle. Currently Cheta and David Bass are both ahead of him. I don't know if any of them have a realistic chance at being one of the rotational guys.

While pressure up the gut is important, getting an elite pass rusher is even more important. It's much easier to find DT's than DE's and DE's are more expensive. The problem is that there were no elite pass rushers available in free agency and there will be none available at #14. In terms of need, it will depend on who are #3 and #4 DE's are at draft-time. I expect us to sign somebody. Now that the market has settled, I wouldn't be surprised to see us bring Corey Wooton back. Either way, in the draft I think we'll go D-line in rounds #1 and #2. Probably DT and then DE. I figure we'll keep up the trend of drafting a bad safety in round #3.

Agreed. I was kind of hoping we would sign him. Mainly because we are desperate for a 3rd DE. I'm keeping my fingers crossed for Jared Allen.

I hope you're right. Otherwise, you look at this team on paper and we are pretty damn awful at sacking the quarterback. Pending more moves in free agency, immediately our greatest need in the draft is defensive end.

I will say your F- is a bit harsh as it's still early. I really feel like we have one more big move left. But I do agree that so far free agency has been "meh" at best. So far we have replaced: Peppers with Houston--Houston is younger but certainly an overall downgrade from a guy who was once the most dynamic defensive player in football. Wooton with Willie Young--I get the feeling Wooton won't be back. I have no reason to believe Willie Young is better. MD Jennings for Major Wright--We've replaced really real bad for just bad Ryan Mundy for Craig Steltz--I put these two together because Mundy is more of a SS like Steltz. He's an upgrade! But like Steltz, he can't defend the pass Domenik Hixon for Hester--Bad comparison. Hixon's more of a tall back-up WR. Not really a return man IMO. Jordan Senn for Blake Costanzo--Bah. Special teams. Bah! Henry Melton for Jay Ratliff--this is an early comparison, but if we didn't have Ratliff signed, we'd be pressing harder for Melton. None of these moves help you feel better about our awful defense. Especially if we lose Peppers, Melton, and Peanut and with Briggs looking like he needs to spend the off-season with Richard Simmons. I feel like one more significant move has to be in the works.

I will say your F- is a bit harsh as it's still early. I really feel like we have one more big move left. But I do agree that so far free agency has been "meh" at best. So far we have replaced: Peppers with Houston--Houston is younger but certainly an overall downgrade from a guy who was once the most dynamic defensive player in football. Wooton with Willie Young--I get the feeling Wooton won't be back. I have no reason to believe Willie Young is better. MD Jennings for Major Wright--We've replaced really real bad for just bad Ryan Mundy for Craig Steltz--I put these two together because Mundy is more of a SS like Steltz. He's an upgrade! But like Steltz, he can't defend the pass Domenik Hixon for Hester--Bad comparison. Hixon's more of a tall back-up WR. Not really a return man IMO. Jordan Senn for Blake Costanzo--Bah. Special teams. Bah! Henry Melton for Jay Ratliff--this is an early comparison, but if we didn't have Ratliff signed, we'd be pressing harder for Melton. None of these moves help you feel better about our awful defense. Especially if we lose Peppers, Melton, and Peanut and with Briggs looking like he needs to spend the off-season with Richard Simmons. I feel like one more significant move has to be in the works.